The Castelian Superhero
by smeenilicious
Summary: Touko travels to Kanto to explore uncommon grounds, without knowing who she might run into. And without knowing Ghetsis joined forces with someone to find the Castelian Superhero, by all costs. Touko x N lies herein
1. Chapter 1

**AN: How much I hate to write these author's notes, I feel like one is necessary at the start of our story. Because I have some announcements to make. Starting with the obvious: All the characters and the Pokemon-franchise belong to Nintendo/Gamefreak and not to Smeenilicious. Good riddance no. Also, obvious spoilers are obvious. The second one: I'm a slow writer, so please keep that in mind. Third one, and the most important one, I love to abuse my creative freedom, and so I can say that some characters can and will be OOC at one point. Also, it is highly possible that the storyline of the latest games will be mixed up with the storyline with the series AND some of the movies. With highly possible, I mean, I already planned it. If this all is ok for you, you are ready to proceed to the actual story. Thank you for your time, and enjoy. And leave a review on your way out.**

oxo

"Can you hear that, my friend? It's the sound of the rain clashing with the ground… It sounds a bit like a sad song." A green haired male watched the rain fall from the dry safety of an umbrella. The enormous Pokemon next to him looked at the same direction as the male's green eyes. A vague, vacant smile formed around his lips as the male obviously sank into his memory world. "It makes me remember and rethink..." , he mused, gazing into what only he could see. His Pokemon-friend gave him a nudge and the male let out a sigh. "Yes, what has come can't really be changed, but you can't help but dream about it.", he told his friend. "But don't you worry, I won't let it get to my head." The nudging stopped, and the sun broke through the clouds. Nature decided it was time for some colour, instead of gray.

ouo

"...and so, I have decided to travel to Kanto.", Touko finished her long explanation to her two friends. She played nervously with her bangs, knowing the reaction of at least one of them. "!", Bianca immediately started, causing Cheren to sigh out from frustration and Touko telling herself she guessed right. "I'll be back soon Bianca.", she tried to assure her friend. "In fact, I'll be back before you know it! I just feel the need to travel..." She pulled a goofy smile, which seemed to ease Bianca. "We understand, Touko.", Cheren stated. "We'll call you if anything comes up here. But don't worry, enjoy yourself." Touko smiled gently at him. "Thank you Cheren. I hope you will not call me." Bianca huffed, crossing her arms in a childlike manner and pouted visibly. "Nothing happens around here anymore...", she stated, annoyed. "You should be happy, Bianca! No-one to steal your Pokemon or hurt your friends.", Cheren told her. Touko nodded, but secretly disagreed. She missed the adventure, just like Bianca did. Her two friends where still bickering, and she decided to keep out. Until Bianca got a hold of her. Quite literally. "But Touko, you told me we would go ride the Ferris wheel!" Touko patted her blonde friend as if it was her little sister. "We'll do that when I get back. I promise." Bianca was still pouting, but apparently was satisfied with the answer. So Touko was happy and relieved. The Ferris wheel wasn't as interesting nowadays... Not anymore.

owo

Giovanni grinned as he looked at his visitor. "My, I would never think that you would show up here, my dearest friend." The other male, who had been lead into his office, looked seemingly annoyed at the whole situation. "We failed. It was a big failure, the whole plan.", he stated, angry and frustrated. Giovanni nodded understandingly. "It seems you'll need a different plan then. Good thing I was just looking for someone from your region of work." His eyes sparkled when he saw the sudden interest coming from his friend. "I have heard stories, rumours, about Castelia City.", Giovanni started. Slowly, to keep the interest. "It seems Castelia has a hidden hero. A mysterious cloaked figure roaming the streets and protecting the city from harm. Have you ever heard of that?" His friend thought for a moment, before answering. "Yes, I have. The Castelian Superhero. I heard stories about him." Giovanni nodded. "I see. Our insiders, however, have reported that it is not a hero, nor a human...", he said calmly, causing his friend to realise the facts quite quickly. "It's a Pokemon then?", he asked carefully. And Giovanni smiled. "Yes. and it should be very powerful if it's capable of playing hero."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: To put it simple, thanks for the reviews and alerts. I'll try to keep a steady tempo, but I'm bad at that. Also, someone has asked me to include an OC. To reply to that: I can't do that with the amount of info you've given me and I don't know if I can place her in this fic. If you can give me more details maybe I have a better answer. Anyhow, enjoy this chapter!**

The sun was shining brightly. Not a trace of clouds in the sky. Touko pulled her sun visor a bit further down and smiled. "Hello Kanto!", she said happily as the ship she currently was on slowly reached the shore. "Hello new Pokemon, hello new people…", she continued, beaming happiness as she did. "And hello new, unexplored grounds!", she shouted to the sky. The ship reached dock quickly, and Touko was one of the first ones to hop off. Her feet touched Kanto for the very first time. "Welcome to Vermillion City, Kanto! Please enjoy your stay, and thank you for traveling with…" Without paying attention to the captain's speech, Touko took off already, running over the dock until she had the city's grounds beneath her feet. She felt as happy as a 10-years old at Christmas. The city was packed. Not as packed as Castelia, but in compression to its size it was pretty busy. Reaching out for her Xtranseiver, she dialed Bianca and Cheren as she promised, quickly getting them both on her screen. "I'm here!", Touko yelled enthusiastically. Bianca cheered for her. "Good job Touko.", Cheren said. "What's next?" The brunette had loads of ideas, but knew she had to stick to a schedule. "I'll have to deliver Prof's package.", she said. "That's my first objective." Cheren nodded. "Apparently, there are some shortcuts from here to Pallet Town so I might as well use those.", she continued, thinking about a good strategy. "Are you going to do fun stuff too?", Bianca asked her with a motherly tone in her voice. Touko snickered at that remark. "Of course I will! There are enough fun things in Kanto!" Bianca nodded, looking all pumped. "Catch some ultra-rare Pokemon while you're at it!", she yelled, causing both Touko and Cheren to move the phone a little bit further away from them. "I'll try.", Touko said. "I am aiming for an Oddish. But you never know what I'll find." While talking, Touko took out her interactive town map and switched it to Kanto. "Ok, I'll go now, but I'll call you if anything comes up, ok?", she said. "Sure. Good luck!", Cheren replied. "Have fun Touko!", Bianca answered. Touko nodded as she said goodbye, and then closed her Xtranseiver. Inspecting her map, the shortcut would be a cave close to Vermillion City. After she would've delivered the package Professor Juniper told her to give to Professor Oak, she would be free to do whatever she wanted. And Touko had some plans. Which included catching an Oddish.

QAQ

He picked up the small brown creature in front of him. It was floating in the pond where he was taking a break. It was dirty and underfed and it appearend liveless. But at the moment he touched it it looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Look at you…", he softly said. "Who would do this to you, huh?" He placed the dirt and wet little creature underneath his shirt, letting it's head come out of his collar. The little creature shivered against his skin. "There, you are save and dry now. Let's get you washed and fed." Petting his new friend the male got up and walked on. "Even here…", he muttered. "Even here Pokemon are being treated badly by people." The white dragon followed his footsteps. "It's horrible to see."

T_T

Giovanni watched the screen. Blurry pictures of an unknown Pokemon were shown to them by his insiders in the Unova region. "These are all pictures made of the mysterious hero of Castelia City, sir.", One grunt said. Giovanni nodded. "I see… These pictures can't really tell us what kind of Pokemon it is, but at least we know now it's there.", he replied. Smirking, he gave his friend a pat on his shoulder and said: "The rumors are confirmed. I'm sure you now are as interested as I am, right?" Not that Giovanni needed an answer to that. He knew his friend was interested. "I will get this Pokemon, Ghetsis, do you understand?" Ghetsis, his friend, simply nodded. "It will be hard to find, Castelia is too large to search through completely." Giovanni hummed to that. "We'll need to know where to start looking.", Ghetsis continued. "I think we'll need to search for a way to lure him out…" Giovanni hummed again. "I think… We'll need to find out what sparks his interest, then." He motioned a grunt closer. "Tell the insiders we need to know more. They should keep investigating this Pokemon.", he told him. The grunt hurried his way to the communication device and Giovanni leaned back, satisfied. "We'll get you back in your working area in no time, Ghetsis.", he told his friend. "Don't you worry."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks for the support, have this amazingly long chapter. Also, my reply to the OC-thing is after the whole chapter. **

Touko finally reached Pallet Town after 4 days of traveling. While Diglett's Cave was an easy way to travel, she got lost in Viridian Forest, and she was completely exhausted when she finally stepped inside the laboratory. "Hello?", she called out huskily. "Hello! Wait a minute, I'll be with you in a moment!" A voice called back to her. Touko could've sworn Professor Juniper told her Professor Oak was an aged man, and that voice didn't sound aged… Touko, however, was too tired to care and sat down against a wall to close her eyes. Just a short time…

"Hey!"

Touko literally jumped up. An older boy with auburn hair was looking at her. Oh no, did she fall asleep? "You look like you saw a Gengar.", the male joked. Yes, she definitely fell asleep. "I'm sorry I kept you waiting, my name is Gary Oak. Nice to meet you." Touko scratched her head before answering. "My name's Touko, I came to deliver a package from Professor Juniper…", she muttered, looking at the male with questioning eyes. "Oh, for grandpa! He told me it was coming." Oh, of course, it was the grandson of the professor, not the professor himself. Gary took the package from Touko. "You look tired." He winked at her when saying so, causing Touko to pout slightly. "You wanna kick a bed here? You're welcome.", he then added. Touko imagined a nice, warm and fluffy bed and immediately decided to go for it. "You can give me your Pokemon, if you want to. I'll patch them up while you patch yourself up.", Gary told her, and Touko gave him her Pokeballs. "Thanks…", she muttered, yawning. "No problem, have some rest!" Touko nodded, smiling sheepishly before heading off to her room.

u_u

"It's getting dark. Let's find us some shelter." Sun was going down, and the green haired male knew his friends deserved some rest. And he would need it too. "Tomorrow, we will go to the island. As you asked, Shion." The little brown creature in his arms was almost asleep. He smiled at the sight and walked on, looking for a place to spend the night.

O_0

Touko wake up the next morning, feeling completely refreshed. After she figured out where the shower was and Gary gave her an awesome plate of pancakes she was her old self again. "Thanks Gary!", she happily said, while chewing on the last bits of pancake she had left. "Don't worry about it. I've got friends crashing here all the time.", the male replied, waving it off. "What are your plans now, Touko?", he then asked. "Catching an Oddish.", was the answer. "Sounds boring to me.", Gary said. "You should try for something bigger." Touko swallowed her breakfast, listening to what Gary had to say. "Like what?" Gary's eyes looked like they were filled with mischief. "Try a Legendary Bird. At least to spot one. I heard that the Seafoam Islands, close to Cinnabar are the home to one of them." Touko was really interested now, she listened to every word carefully. "The islands next to Cinnabar?", she quietly asked. Gary nodded. "Yes, it lives inside the cave." Touko's face filled itself with determination. She was going to see that bird! "Ok, gimme my Pokemon!" Gary was obviously amused at her sudden outburst of energy and handed her the Pokeballs she was carrying earlier. "Be careful over there, the ice is slippery.", he warned her, but Touko waved it away. "Isn't it always?", she joked. Gary shook his head in defeat.

:'D

"The mysterious Pokemon in Castelia City appears to be undiscovered, sir. We've checked the complete database but found nothing.", the Rocket grunt reported. Giovanni nodded and dismissed the grunt. "Interesting…", Giovanni muttered. His newfound partner nodded. "It might be just the blurry pictures, but if we discovered a new breed…", he continued. "It would give us some possibilities." Ghetsis nodded again. "It might also be a Zoroark, of course…", he replied. "Yes, but a Zoroark is still a good catch.", Giovanni said. "We should get to Castelia City and investigate there. This isn't getting us anywhere.", Ghetsis complained. "Wait a little longer, my friend, we can't search for him if we don't know how to find him, isn't that right? When my team has discovered how to trigger his appearance we can visit the city.", Giovanni said in a calming way. "Have patience." Ghetsis nodded once more, he knew the other male was right. He had to time it carefully.

=3=

"It. Is. Cold.", Touko stated to herself. The icey cave Gary had directed her to wasn't really what she's been expecting. "Well, let's get this show on the road.", she muttered, pulling her sun visor up. Carefully, she walked the slippery path. After she'd arrived at the Seafoam Islands, she had taken all the possible precautions she could think of. Too bad she forgot Gary mentioning the ice part of the story, and so she was walking around in her regular outfit. Her legs felt like they were freezing, but she carried on anyway, climbing up a slope. "I wonder what it looks like, the Legendary Bird…", she mused to herself. Touko imagined a huge, badass-looking bird that was ready to eat your limbs at any time of the day. She squealed at the mere image of that. And then it popped up. A Pokemon somewhat of her height, with huge lips and blonde hair. Touko jumped up a little from the sudden appearance. She composed herself quickly, but when violently grabbing a Pokeball from her belt her left foot started to slip. With a scream she slipped away completely, sliding down the slope and crashing into the wall. "Ouch…" Touko looked up, the Pokemon had disappeared already. "That was not part of the plan…" She tried to get up, but her left ankle started throbbing painfully and she slouched back down. "Great, I slipped on the ice, crashed into the wall behind me and…", Touko looked behind her to examine her throbbing ankle. "… And I sprained my ankle.", she muttered. Her hand went to her belt, but at that moment the Pokemon from earlier returned, holding the Pokeball of her beloved Maractus she called Suzie. "Give her back!", Touko yelled, trying to get up on her feet once more. The Pokemon, however, didn't move. "That ball contains my friend, please…", Touko said, biting down her tears. And then a small blue creature tackled the Pokemon. It released Touko's ball, which rolled towards her. She grabbed it, hugged it and put it back on her belt. The Pokemon fled, and the blue one walked over to Toumko, looking satisfied. "Thanks a bunch little one.", she told the small Pokemon. It sat down and scratched its ear, letting out a satisfied "Glaaa" It then cocked its head. Touko watched it curiously. She heard the footsteps now, and thought that the Pokemon heard those earlier already. "Shion! Where did you go?", a familiar voice called out. A green-haired male came running to the Pokemon and picked her up. "You're hopeless, Shion.", he said lovingly. "Running off after evolving so suddenly, what were you thinking?" Shion replied to him, causing the human to look at Touko. "Oh…", he said. "Hey…"

**AN no. 2: To reply to the OC-insert-thingy. At the moment, my answer will be no. This is because of a couple of things, I'll list them here for you.  
>1. I am a bit further into the story myself, since I write more than I publish. It will make it very hard for me to incorporate a character.<br>2. I do not have enough information about her. If you really want me to write about her, I need stuff like her looks, personality, background and Pokemon team to make it happen.  
>3. You told me exactly how she and Touko should meet. Do you understand that this would mean that you would be writing the story, instead of me? I can never use those ideas, not only because of the story, but also because they're not mine. If you want them to meet exactly like that, you should write a story of it yourself.<br>I'm sorry to break the bomb to you. I'm still willing to write about your OC, however, if you supply me of the details I listed above I can see what I can do for you. It's up to you, however, to change this no into a yes. Thanks for reading, I hope you understand!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: The horror of losing your USB and not having a back-up of your files. QAQ Also, I'll see what I can do about that OC. And if the Pokémon-nicknames are confusing, there's a list at the bottom of this chapter. Enjoy!**

"Hey?", Touko repeated softly. "Is that everything you've got to say for yourself?", she then raged, spitting out her words as she went. "If I… I'm going to…", she sputtered softly. Then, calming down a little, she sighed and hung her head. "Hey.", she then replied. Carefully, N kneeled beside her. "Thanks.", Touko muttered. "Yes, thank you Shion.", N said quietly. Shion proudly sat down next to N and he petted her. "Say…", Touko muttered, "I don't want to ruin the moment between you guys, but I'm freezing here.", she said. N looked at her. "Then, why did you sit down on the ice?" Deep down, Touko felt the urge to slam her fist into his head, but she kept her cool. "I sprained my ankle, it hurts to walk. If this wasn't ice I'd do it, but I don't think it's a good idea right now.", she calmly replied. N nodded understandingly. "Well, so much for the Legendary Bird, I guess…", Touko sighed, pouting slightly to the ground. "Were you going to catch it?", N asked her. Something in his voice seemed to disagree on the subject. "No, I just wanted to see it. With Zack I have had my fair share of Legendaries.", Touko replied. The man next to her thought of that answer. They sat still for a moment, before Shion jumped up, mewling to N frantically. "Oh yeah, sprained ankle.!", N said, jumping up. He then took Touko's hands and helped her up on her feet. "I'll help you.", he told her. "Great, thanks.", Touko replied, and N took her out of the cave.

QAQ

Touko and N sat on the shore of the island. Shion slept in the sand. Both of the humans quietly watched the sea, without saying anything. When N gathered the courage to look at Touko's face, he could see that she was frowning. "Touko…", he started carefully. "I don't like seas and oceans.", Touko said, without replying. That caught N off guard. "You… what?" Touko sighed and said: "I don't like big bodies of water. And I don't like beaches either.", she replied. Dumbfounded, N dared to ask her. "Why?" No answer, Touko bit her lower lip and N decided to leave the subject, even if she started it herself. "I came her flying on Zack.", Touko then said. "I don't like surfing because of the water." N nodded, but still was curious about it all. "What about rivers? And how do you water your Maractus?", he asked eagerly. Touko shrugged. "I don't like rivers either, but they're not as bad. And I'm not afraid of water so I can just water my Maractus. Also, Suzie doesn't really need a lot of water." Shion yawned loudly, and Touko looked at her. "Water type?", she plainly asked. N shook his head. "Shion is a Glaceon, an Ice type. She was an Eevee this morning, but she wanted to come here and evolve. Interestingly enough, it happened.", he told Touko. "Did you name her?", she asked. N shook his head again. "She is named by her previous owner, and introduced herself using that name. She wants me to use it." Silence again. Both of them stared at their feet for a while. "You should probably take care of that ankle, it's pretty blue and swollen.", N then said, looking at Touko's injury. Touko nodded, grabbed her bag and opened it. Out came a first aid box. Touko took some bandages out of it and carefully taped her ankle. Full of interest, N watched her. "There, that should do it. I already unwillingly cooled it in the cave so that shouldn't be a problem", Touko said, putting the box back in her bag. "Glad I took those first aid lessons before becoming a Trainer." Satisfied, Touko nodded at her own statement. She tried to get up, and found herself standing somewhat stable. "I think I can walk with this now.", she exclaimed happily. N got up too, and Touko watched him while smiling brightly Then she decided to hug him. "Thanks for your help. And, I missed you.", she told him. N looked a bit scared of the current situation, but decided to hug her back anyway. "I missed… I missed you too, I guess.", he replied. Touko softly stomped him in his stomach. "You guess?", she said playfully, giving N a fake pout before grinning widely. N smiled. "I guess. I'm not convinced yet.", he joked. Touko giggled. Shion yawned again, and they both watched her. "Ok, let's get off this island, the sea is creeping me out.", Touko then stated. Both she and N released each other. "Where do you want to go?", N asked. "Are you coming with me?", Touko replied. N nodded. "You're injured.", he said. "I sprained my ankle, it's not like it's going to kill me." Touko crossed her arms in defence. "Well, I'm convinced you need someone to look after you as long as you're hurt.", N stated. "And I won't change my view that easily." Touko huffed. "Oh believe me, I know."

U-U

The grin on Giovanni's face couldn't be any bigger. "I think we found what we're looking for, my friend.", he said happily. "We know what will make the mysterious superhero appear. This will make searching a lot easier for us." Ghetsis nodded eagerly. "I'm ready to lure it out.", he said. Giovanni held his hand up. "We'll need to gather a team for you. Do you still have people to trust?", he asked. "Yes, and they can gather me a team real quick.", Ghetsis replied. Giovanni nodded. "Good. Let's get you a base and some Pokémon then." He motioned a grunt and ordered him to check the Pokemon storage. "I'm happy to see you getting back so quickly where you belong, my friend.", Giovanni said. Ghetsts smirked. "I can't wait to be back.", he told his friend.

o.O

Touko was fairly disappointed when N told her that the Legendary Bird she was looking for wasn't as badass as she imagined it to be. "It's actually very pretty and feminine. It's completely blue and it has a long, waving tail that glitters while it's flying. It's also an Ice-Type, so that's not really your thing anyway.", he said. Touko groaned. "And here I was hoping it would look like a crossbreed between Zekrom and Unfezant…" She laid down in the grass. Shion watched her curiously. "How did you get that idea?", N asked her. "I dunno…", the brunette said. "Anyway, since you know almost everything about Pokémon, do you know where I can catch an Oddish?", she then asked, turning around to lie on her belly and leaning on her elbows. "Oddish? You can meet them in Cerulean City.", N replied, not commenting on the 'catch' in Touko's sentence. "But the city's surrounded by water, so you probably don't want to go there.", he added. Touko groaned again. "Forget about it then…", she muttered, and then she said: "Well, at least I saw Diglett and Dugtrio, an awful lot of insect types and Shion." Touko sighed. Shion pushed her head against Touko's arm and mewled loudly. "Shion thanks you for the compliment, but Glaceon is a Pokémon originally from Sinnoh.", N said. Touko dropped her head into the grass. "What a failure…", she moaned. N laid down next to her. "It's not a failure… It's just not easy to meet Pokémon.", he quietly replied. Touko watched him, he had a distant gaze in his eyes. Shion walked over to him and climbed in his lap. N hugged her. Touko was still watching him, and suddenly felt bad inside. "You ok?", she asked N. He nodded. "I'm fine. You're the one that's hurt.", he replied. Touko groaned loudly. "That's not what I meant. Are you feeling better now you came here?" N looked at her for a while before answering. "I think… I learned a lot from this traveling. About Pokémon, but about humans too.", he then replied calmly. "Although I miss Unova too." He started to watch the clouds moving in the sky. "I still don't understand a lot of things that I should understand. But I would never learn these things if I'd stayed in the castle.", he continued. "So I'm happy I came here, even if it was hard sometimes." Touko nodded. "You should be proud of yourself.", she said. N sighed softly. "That's the hard part.", he answered, still gazing at the sky above. Touko turned around again, looking at the clouds together with her companion. They were silent for a while, before N said: "Oh look, that cloud looks like an Emolga!" He pointed up, and they both laughed.

**List of nicknamed Pokémon:**

**Suzie: Touko's Maractus  
><strong>**Zack: Zekrom  
><strong>**Shion: N's Glaceon, although he would never say he 'owned' her.**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Time to get this thing into the rating the label says, don't you think? There's a hint towards Okamiden in this chapter, see if you can find it. Also, I know Gothitelle have blue eyes, but guess who has a Shiny? Right. Me! Anyway, enjoy this chapter.**

Pinwheel Forest was beautiful by nightfall. It looked like a sanctuary for humans and Pokémon alike. The stars twinkled in the sky, and the trees looked like they lit up themselves. The closed flowers and the sleeping Pokémon gave it a serene feeling. Only the sound of the nearby stream disrupted the silence, but it wasn't unpleasant. Not at all. And in the midst of it all stood a group of ten people. Including Ghetsis. The man sighed while looking at the wonderful scenery around him. "It's almost a shame, don't you guys think?", he quietly asked. A few heads nodded. Ghetsis watched the trees some more before ordering the men around him to move out. " Too bad, almost isn't good enough."

:P

Touko quietly opened the doors of the mansion. "They say this place is haunted.", she told N, who walked after her. "Then, why are we going here?", he asked her. "Because of the Pokémon, of course!", Touko happily said. "Who knows what types live here…" That made N interested and he followed Touko into the hallway. Shion followed him closely. "This place is huge!", Touko exclaimed. And she was right. Apart from the dimmed light and old furniture, the room was amazing. "This place must be worth millions." N shrugged. "Why is it haunted anyway?", he asked. "I dunno, I just heard it's haunted.", Touko replied. They walked down the hallway, occasionally looking at statues and paintings that decorated the dimly lit place. And then, they found the stairs. "Let's go up!", Touko said. "Yeah, why not. Maybe there's some Pokémon there.", N answered. Carefully, they climbed up the stairs, some parts of it didn't look very safe, and set foot on the second floor. In front of them a brave-looking Pokémon appeared.. Shion mewled at it, and it barked back. "Shion's afraid you'll trip again.", N told Touko. "But the Growlite wants to battle you anyway." Touko scratched her head. "Nice job translator.", she said, grabbing a Pokeball from her belt. The Growlite barked loudly, jumping around happily. "Look at you, getting all energetic!" Touko smiled warmly at the sight. "Well, I'll give you a fight!" She threw her Pokeball, calling forth her Gothitelle. "Emily! Go!" N watched her, and Shion sat down next to him, looking as interested as her partner. The Growlite barked at Emily, but the Gothitelle only watched him with her bright purple eyes. "Ok, Emily, use Psychic!", Touko called, and her Pokémon obliged. The Growlite tried to dodge, but was hit by the attack. It managed to get up again, and launched a Flamethrower at his opponent. "Dodge Emily!", Touko yelled, but Emily was too slow. She was still standing, so Touko continued. "Emily, use Psybeam!" This time, it was a direct hit, and the Growlite flew a couple of meters back. N gasped at it, but Shion mewled happily and Touko cheered. "Nicely done Emily!", she said, giving her Pokemon a high-five before putting her back in her ball. The Growlite got up, and Touko walked towards it. "You did great too, little one!", she told him lovingly. Growlite barked back, wiggling his tail slightly. "Oh Arceus, have you ever seen anything this cute?", Touko squealed, grabbing an empty Pokeball. "I'm going to take you home!" She pointed the ball at the Growlite, who disappeared into it. With a loud click, the Pokemon was hers. "Yeah! I caught a Growlite! I'm going to call him Pooch." Touko ran back to N, who was still watching her. Before he had anything to say in the matter, Shion mewled and stood up. "Shion is happy you can take care of yourself without her help.", N translated. Touko huffed, crossing her arms. "Ask your partner how well I can manage without help!", she said. "Come on, we're going to investigate somewhat further." And she stomped away. N snorted and followed her, with Shion close on his heels.

:'D

Touko examined the large painting in front of her. She was lifting her sun visor a little to get a good look at it. "Hey, what do you think of this?", she asked, but when she turned around N had gone missing. "I'm here!", a voice called out from the room next to her. Touko walked inside of the room and N was looking at some book lying on a table. Shion was looking with him. "Apparently, this place was a laboratory once. They did genetic experiments.", N said. Touko walked to the table and looked at the writings. "It's a dairy…", she muttered. "It seems that they tried to clone a Pokémon…", N told her. Silence fell. "Why would you do that?", Touko asked. "I don't know. Why would you use innocent Pokémon for stupid science!", N said, looking quite angry. "What happened?", Touko asked. N shook his head. "It doesn't tell anything more than that… But I bet it has something to do with the fact that it's haunted now." Touko nodded. At the same moment the lights flickered, and Shion bolted up. "Yeah, let's get outta here.", Touko said. She walked away from the table, back to the hallway. "Where are you going?", N asked her. "Out.", she replied, pointing at the hallway. "But I have an Escape Rope." Touko turned around and saw N holding the item. "One for both of us?" N nodded. "These things can carry a lot of weight. I don't think you're heavy enough to break it." At that remark, he got slapped. "My weight. Is perfect.", Touko said. "Yes ma' am.", N replied. Shion climbed onto his shoulders, and he took Touko's hand. "Don't let go of me now.", he said. Touko blushed. "Don't make it look like a romantic movie.", she muttered, holding onto N.

:'C

The nurse of the PokeCenter brought Touko back her Growlite. Touko thanked her, before walking back to N. He was taking care of Shion, who had her eyes closed in satisfaction. He had a distant gaze in his eyes and Touko sat down next to him. "Hey Touko.", he started. "Could I talk to your Growlite?" Touko was quite taken by the sudden request, but nodded. She sent out her Growlite, who barked eagerly. "Good to see you again Pooch!", Touko said happily. N kneeled down to the Pokémon. "Hello Growlite.", he said. "Oh, ok then. Hello Pooch." Touko chuckled at that. "I want to ask you something.", N said calmly. "What is it like to get caught?" Pooch seemed to think about it. He then barked loudly. "I see. What about the balls? What do you think of those?" Again, Pooch barked loudly in reply. N nodded. "I see. Thanks." Pooch jumped on Touko's lap, and Touko sent him back in his ball. "Did it help you?", she asked N, who nodded. "He thinks it's OK to be caught after having put up a great fight. If the trainer is strong enough he feels proud.", he told Touko. "Also, apparently a Pokeball looks bigger on the inside. So it isn't bad to be in one." Touko studied the ball in her hand. "Interesting…", she muttered. N nodded. "I still don't really get it, but I can see what Pooch means.", he then said. "If the Trainer looks strong and good to his Pokémon, it wouldn't be bad to get caught by that Trainer." Touko didn't reply. She thought of what N said. He was still struggling with the real world. Somehow, she felt bad for him again. They sat next to each other for a while, before Touko's Xtranseiver rang. She grabbed it and opened it, showing Cheren on the screen. "Hey Cher, what's happening?", Touko asked. The look on Cheren's face couldn't be more serious. "It's bad Touko. Really bad.", he said. "What is?", she asked. "Somehow, a fire started in Pinwheel Forest. It kept growing and isn't under control yet." Touko gasped. Next to her N did the same. "We are heading there right now to help taking care of the Pokémon they rescued, but it's a mess.", Cheren said, not noticing Touko's companion. "I understand. I'll be coming back immediately.", Touko replied. "You don't have to.", Cheren said. Touko shook her head. "I have to. It's my home. By the way, were there humans around?", she said. "The fire started at night. But even if there were no humans, the Pokémon were sleeping at that time. They didn't stand a chance.", Cheren answered. "Thanks for telling me Cheren, I'll see you soon.", Touko said. Cheren forced out a smile. "Take it easy. I know you, you'll get all worked up over this.", he said. She smiled back at him and closed her Xtranseiver. Then she looked at N, who seemingly was shocked by the situation. "I'm going.", she said. "Me too.", N replied. "I might not be the one they want to see, but…" Touko patted him on his shoulder. "I'm sure they'll accept and appreciate any help they get.", she told him. N smiled back. "Thanks."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I blame N for the lateness of this chapter. And my newly acquired Togekiss. But mostly N. And that stupid Nintendo-blog that made me want to scrap the entire story. Because suddenly N was so… different! I still don't know what to make of all this… The new information kinda set me off. So, enjoy this chapter, I need some time to work things out.**

Cheren had been up for almost 20 hours straight. Ever since he and Bianca arrived in Narcene City he had worked with all the other volunteers to make the fire die down. And when after 10 hours trying to extinguish the flames, the situation was under control. Bianca went to sleep, but Cheren didn't. Sure, he tried! But the helpless cries of Pokémon, the panicking human voices and the smell of burnt wood kept him awake. After lying down for half an hour he decided to get up again and work his ass off. He helped with taking care of wounded Pokémon, he moved debris to clean up, he monitored the planning… After almost a day, Cheren had done everything and anything and that they had asked him. So that's why he looked like a zombie when Touko and N arrived. And why he didn't have the energy to scold N for being with Touko. "By Arceus, Cheren, what did they do to you?", Touko whispered. Sighing, Cheren waved it off. "Stop talking and start working. We need caretakers, loads of them.", he told them, pointing at the makeshift nursery that was built just hours ago. N nodded and hurried to the emergency nursery, Shion closely following him. Worried, Touko asked Cheren: "How's the situation right now?" Cheren sighed again in response. "Terrible. The damage, the wounded Pokémon… The fire has died down, finally, but we haven't seen the end of this yet." Cheren's expression was dead-serious. Touko hugged her friend. "Get some rest Cheren. I'll take your job from you.", she told him. Cheren gave her a careful smile. "Thanks…" , he muttered. "I was keeping up with the schedule." Touko gave him a grin before she sat down in front of the schedule and studied it. It wasn't hard to understand. Not for someone who had slept, that is. From the emergency dorms Touko heard Bianca force Cheren to take a nap and she giggled softly.

Shion was talking to a group of wounded Pidove and the nurses were talking to N about the Pokémon they had rescued so far. Rested and happy as ever Bianca walked in, petting a Pansage that came greeting her. "Nurse? Did someone look at that Liligant yet?", she asked. The nurse Bianca was talking to shook her head. "She doesn't let anyone touch her.", she replied sadly. This caught N's ear. "Can I try it?" The nurses and Bianca looked at him. "Hello! Did you arrive together with Touko?", Bianca said cheerfully. N nodded. "Go ahead, she's in there." Bianca pointed at the door behind her. N opened it, carefully, and saw the Liligant they were talking about. Closing the door after him, he saw that the Pokémon was terribly hurt. N sat down on the floor and watched her move. She didn't look at him, but N could feel that she was scared. He gave her some personal space and some time to get used to his company, before she looked up at him. _Are you here to set fire on me again?_ She asked him. N gasped. "No. I am not here to set fire on you. Why would I do that?", he asked her. Liligant held her head low. _They set fire on us. The humans._ N pulled his legs close. "I'm so sorry…", he whispered. "But not all humans are here to hurt you." Liligant didn't reply. She just kept staring at the floor. "I want to help you. If you let me come close, I can take care of your burns.", N told her. She looked up at him. _Will you do that?_ N nodded reassuringly. She then moved closer to him. _OK. But only if it's you. The others come too close, too soon. _N nodded again. "I understand. But the others can't understand you like I can." Liligant sat down next to him. _That doesn't matter. They move too fast and talk too loud. You don't do that. _N smiled at her, and took some burn heals from his bag. "Don't worry. I'll be the only one taking care of you.", he told the Pokemon softly. She looked back at him, happy.

"I'm happy you finally got some sleep Cheren.", Leonora said. Cheren nodded. "Me too.", Bianca said. "He was driving me crazy! He looked like he just barely escaped from a horde of Chandelure!" Leonora smirked. "Listen to your girlfriend, Cheren. Women always know best.", she told the male. Cheren grew red. "My what?", he yelled. "No yelling Cheren.", Touko said, giving Cheren a soft pat against his head. She just came walking around the corner. "Oh Leonora!", Bianca started happily. "Have you met Touko's boyfriend yet?" Both Cheren and Leonora looked at Touko. "Who's my boyfriend this time?", she calmly said. Bianca gave Touko a naughty smile. "Someone… Who is here…", she started, teasing her friend. Touko crossed her arms. "Whoa Bianca. You can't be more distinctive than that?" And then Cheren got the hint. "HE is your boyfriend? You've got to be kidding me!", he yelled. "Oh my…", Leonora said. "I see jealousy and drama developing? Is Touko in love with a criminal or something?" Bianca snorted and Cheren huffed. And then it dawned on Touko. "Wait! He's not my boyfriend! Where did you get that from? That's the dumbest idea you've ever had Bianca!", she shouted. Angrily, she stomped onwards to the nursery. Bianca snorted again. Cheren could only huff.

Shion greeted Touko loudly, introducing her to her new Pidove friends. "Hello Shion.", Touko said, kneeling down and stroking her back. "Where's N?" Shion mewled, giving a nod to the closed door behind Touko. "I see… Thank you." Touko got up, and at that moment N opened said door. "Hello Touko!", he said happily, carrying Liligant in his arms. "She finally went to sleep. I told her she'd be fine. I would stay with her." Touko frowned. "Who's that?", she asked him. "This is Lily.", N said. Touko snorted. "What?" Touko snorted some more. "You gave her a nickname. This is the second time you did it." N looked at Touko, then at Lily. "I didn't!", he replied, flustered. "Yeah yeah, refuse to give in. I know you did." The girl said, waving it off. "What happened to her?" N sat down on the floor. "She got burnt horribly. She didn't want to let anyone near her. So I talked to her and she understood that everyone was trying to help her, but they scared her nonetheless." Touko sat down next to N, and Shion lied down between them. "I think I found good use for my skill…", N mumbled. Bianca and Cheren came walking in and saw him holding Lily. "Oh, you did it!", Bianca said. "Good job! I was afraid she might lose consciousness if no-one could help her." She kneeled down at looked at the Pokémon. "She looks fine now." Bianca smiled. Cheren sat down next to her. "So, why was she so afraid?", he asked. "Apparently, someone willingly set the forest on fire.", N muttered darkly. "She saw humans starting it, it woke her up." Bianca and Touko gasped. Cheren nodded. "I see, so it's a crime now too.", he replied calmly. N continued. "She was afraid and hurt, and when she got here everything went too fast. She just got scared of all the things going on here. You get easily scared when you're hurt and stressed already.", he said softly. The four own them watched the Pokémon for a while. "We should report this to the police.", Cheren then said. Bianca nodded. "The chaos kinda died down, so maybe they know some more now.", she replied. "See you soon Touko." Touko smiled at her. She waved both of them goodbye as they left. N hugged Lily carefully, but closely. "This is so scary…", he mumbled. "Why?", Touko asked. "I can hear everyone's voices. They're all scared and in pain. Some lost their houses, some lost friends and family. It's so sad…" N wiped away his tears. Touko felt a lump in her throat. "Pokémon should not feel like this…", N silently said. He took a deep breath. "No-one should feel like this. Pokémon or human.", he corrected himself, with a stronger voice this time. Touko silently put her head on N's shoulder. Bianca always did that when she felt scared or sad. It was the only thing she could do right now. "It feels like… Like when I was younger…" N whispered the last part of that sentence. "Don't worry. They'll be alright.", Touko said softly. "Everything will be alright…"


End file.
